Where climate goals and a complex housing system collide: Key challenges from the first ReHousIn Policy Lab in Austria
What happens when ambitious climate goals meet the complex realities of housing affordability in Austria? At the first ReHousIn Policy Lab, hosted by Technische Universität Wien on 25 April 2025 in Vienna, this tension was discussed amongst stakeholders from diverse backgrounds to explore the intersection of housing affordability and climate and environmental policies in Austria. Participants represented a wide spectrum of expertise, including social and private housing providers, national and regional government officials, tenant support services, and independent housing experts.
The TU Wien project team facilitated a wide-ranging discussion that addressed the challenges of coordinating climate and affordable housing measures across different levels of governance, the specific issues faced by cities of varying sizes in balancing environmental goals with housing needs, and the effectiveness and limitations of current measures, alongside recommendations for future policy directions.
The Policy Lab yielded several critical insights. A key point of consensus was the importance of combining housing subsidies targeted at buildings with those aimed at tenants and homeowners, in order to avoid disproportionately burdening low-income households. Given the social resistance to green retrofits – often driven by fears of rent increases among existing tenants and communities – participants emphasised the need for strong and inclusive communication strategies. Finally, there was broad agreement on the necessity of integrating climate and social objectives, rather than addressing them in isolation or through sequential approaches.
Publishing date: